


Promise

by geeky__chick



Series: BlackHawk Ficlet Series [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mild Sexual Content, Romance, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, oh god the fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 19:25:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3393416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geeky__chick/pseuds/geeky__chick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha and Steve have a heart to heart about relationships leading to a little development between Nat and Clint.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> This is nothing but mildly smutty fluff for mildly smutty fluff's sake.
> 
> Enjoy!

It wasn’t easy for a woman codenamed ‘The Black Widow’ to make friends. She wasn’t one to gab on the phone with girlfriends or send naughty text messages to a potential lover. There was no standing around the water cooler at SHIELD to discuss the latest office romances or episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

The damage done by the KGB’s Red Room left her with limited social skills if she wasn’t in ‘character’ for a mission.

That being said, there was something oddly easy about hanging around with Steve Rogers.

Her friend stared at the tablet in his hands, looking over something from the never-ending list in that little notebook he carried everywhere. A glance over the tiny table and the ridge of her own tablet told her he was looking at the entries regarding the Berlin Wall.

Though she tried to hide a smile, Natasha knew Steve had seen it.

Tapping her fingers over the new mission briefs on SHIELD’s remote access page, Natasha tapped the tab that would bring up Clint Barton’s profile.

Her brow knitted together tightly, a furrow of worry that wasn’t common on her face. To most, the Black Widow was ruthless, cunning, cold, and intelligent. She wasn’t a sentimental creature capable of love, of friendship.

A handful of people saw past that.

The words “Classified” flashed over the screen. Natasha knew her code wouldn’t open the file since it was probably “Director’s Eyes Only”, but she tried anyway.

“Denied” blinked at her teasingly from the screen. _Damn it_.

All she knew was that her partner had gone to Syria.

Closing the SHIELD information site, Natasha opened a new app and typed in the location. A glance told her there were quite a few things going on there. Was Clint on an intelligence mission or an assassination?

Was he ok?

“He’ll be fine, Tasha.”

Steve’s voice brought her from thought, reminding her that she wasn’t supposed to have that look on her face. Of course, Steve Rogers didn’t mind. He was open and friendly, willing to sit with anyone who needed an ear and didn’t mind rather dated advice.

Still, Natasha tried to evade. It was part of her personality.

She offered the man a look that straddled the border between annoyed and deadly. Steve simply sipped at his coffee as though nothing was amiss at all. Few people could handle her death stares with the aplomb that Rogers carried with him on a daily basis. Perhaps that was why Natasha liked their mid-afternoon coffee dates.

“It’s all over your face.” Steve offered, setting his cup back down.

He did not immediately go back to the Berlin Wall, so Natasha steeled herself for the incoming interrogation or story, based on whatever mood her friend was in at the moment.

“You know, after New York, I was more than a little disconnected from the world. I tried to just breathe, go back to being this little guy from Brooklyn, relearning the world. I met this girl.”

Natasha found herself interested as she let her tablet time out. She looked up at Steve, wondering why she hadn’t noticed.

“You were gone.” The man said lightly. “I think that was the Colombia thing.”

So, that explained it. That undercover op took the better part of three months.

“Anyway, her name was Anne. Schoolteacher, second grade. Pretty, soft spoken, liked old movies and fast cars. I liked her almost immediately. She didn’t seem to care about New York or my uniform. I felt like I could be myself. I hadn’t felt that since…well, since 1945.”

Steve’s blue eyes took on a faraway look, one that spoke of heartbreak, of loss. Natasha leaned her elbows on the table, staring at her friend in shock.

Wouldn’t Stark be proud?

“I had to take a mission to England, so I was gone about a week. When I got back, I found out that she was having a really good time telling her friends about how she ‘bagged’ Captain America. As it turned out, she wasn’t so much into Steve as she was Captain America. She was actually shocked when I broke things off, even after I confronted her. She seemed to think I was in the wrong. Oh, well.”

Well, that was different. Of course, Natasha understood the fascination any straight female with a pulse had for Steve Rogers. He was gorgeous, well built, and had the manners of a Baby Boomer. There were definitely worse things to take to bed.

But to treat him that way, as a gateway to some sort of fame? The very thought filled the assassin with rage. No one deserved that, especially not Steve.

Natasha frowned. “What’s her last name and address?”

Steve’s smile was grateful and amused. “No, you’re not killing her. It was fine. I just wanted to give you an example.”

“Of what?” Black Widow asked carefully.

“There is something so special about watching you with Barton.” Steve said carefully. “You both light up, you crack jokes, and some of that darkness that haunts you slides off. That doesn’t happen every day. It’s ok to say you’re worried about him.”

She looked away from the scrutiny and patience in that clear blue gaze. For someone asleep for 70 years, Rogers proved to be an astute judge of character. Besides that, he knew Natasha better than most, having fought beside her, trusted her.

Swallowing hard, Natasha spoke quietly.

“He hasn’t been the same since Loki.” She admitted softly. “I don’t want him getting hurt because he can’t focus.”

Steve gifted her with that patented Rogers smile. Most women would have swooned. Natasha could admit it made her insides melt a little. He really was sweetheart.

“He worries about you, too.” Steve offered, indicating to the waitress for another coffee to go. “I just think you should remind him that your perception of him hasn’t changed since Loki played with his head. Just tell him he’s still the same guy to you. He’s still Clint, Hawkeye, your Bird Brain.”

Unable to help it, Natasha smiled. She tried to bite it back, but Steve lifted a brow with amusement. Shaking her head, missing her Bird Brain, Natasha nodded.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Do that.” The waitress brought his coffee and Steve stood. “I’ll cover for you this afternoon. Take a load off.”

He patted her shoulder as he moved away, leaving Natasha to her thoughts. Better than anyone, Natasha knew that most people were not as they seemed. Finding someone you could sleep beside with complete trust was rare even without the insanity of a life she lived.

Clint Barton had always been her safety net. Having him compromised the way Loki had rocked her world. Natasha hadn’t been herself the entire time she and the Avengers battled Loki. She’d been consumed with winning back the one person she loved beyond all others.

Was Cap right? Did Clint need to know she didn’t see him any differently?

“Thanks, Cap. Yeah, I’ll be in at 9ish.”

Hearing a familiar voice behind her, Natasha closed her eyes. Oh, so the famous Captain America wasn’t just waxing philosophical for fun. He had seen whom was standing outside of the coffee shop they frequented.

As Clint slid into the captain’s abandoned seat, coffee in hand, Natasha rolled her eyes.

He looked fresh and clean in the battered brown jacket he preferred, a deep violet t-shirt and sunglasses. When he pulled the eyewear from his face, Natasha noticed his blue-green eyes that always reminded her of quartz had that familiar, laughing crinkle at the edges.

“You’re way too hot to look that sad.” Clint said, sipping his coffee. “Can I put a smile on that face, woman?”

It was so familiar, so _Clint_ , that Natasha bit back tears and laughter at the same moment. With Cap’s words still running around in her mind, Natasha leaned closer to her friend over the table.

“Clint.” Her voice caught. Natasha cleared her throat. “You know that I love you, right?”

He seemed startled by the sudden, uncommon declaration.

“Yeah, Nat.” Clint nodded, his eyes swimming with emotion. “I love you, too.”

Fearing he did not understand, Natasha shook her head.

“No, I mean, I love you, even after everything that happened six months ago.” Widow went on. “You’re still the same to me, Bird Brain.”

At this, Clint sobered. He met her gaze with his, reaching across the table to take her hand. There was something like relief in his eyes and Natasha smiled.

“Come on,” she said, jerking her head toward the door. “Let’s go home.”

 

~**~

 

Clint rolled with Natasha in his arms, pinning her beneath his body. He knew those sharp eyes were cataloguing every wound, every bruise from his two-week mission, even if she was distracted by peeling his clothing away. They would be assessed later, no matter what SHIELD’s doctors said as they cleared him. Nat wouldn’t be satisfied until she inspected him herself.

Her kisses were heady, filled with whispered secrets and smoky delights. Natasha wasn’t an ordinary lover. She filled, consumed, burned away everything in him that wasn’t in direct relation to her. Unlike his brainwashing at the hands of Loki, being possessed by Natasha was a beautiful, beloved torture.

She gasped his name as he trailed wet, open-mouthed kisses down the long, smooth column of her throat. His hands were sliding up from her thighs, to take her generous backside into his palms. His lover was bare before him already, their haste to undo clothing resulting in several tears and popped buttons.

Here, with her, was his center. Clint could find himself here, with this woman, even if the world was coming down around his ears. She knew him, to the soul, and accepted every part of him. Even the parts of his mind and soul he himself hated were gently carried inside of Natasha.

As she arched her lithe body into his, Clint stopped thinking. They had been apart too long, kept by work and the self-hatred Clint had carried for his deeds at the mercy of Loki. Now, though, it did not matter. She knew him, all of his faults, and she loved him the same through it all.

“Nat.” He whispered her name as her thighs parted, inviting him to settle there.

His hands gripped hers against the pillows, his weight evenly distributed over his elbows so he could look down at the woman he loved with everything good inside of him.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

Clint slid home with one thrust, burying himself into her wet, receptive body without hesitation or fear. Natasha gasped, her head falling back to reveal kiss-bruised lips parted as she panted for air. Her body clenched around him almost to the point of pain, forcing Clint to move.

They settled into an easy rhythm, Clint dropping his mouth onto Natasha’s to ensure they touched at every point it was possible to. Fire coiled in his belly from the first thrust, every nerve ending on alert as she wrapped her long legs around his waist. He delved more deeply into her body with every swivel of hips, drawing keening moans and heady gasps from her beautiful mouth.

Her nails scored down his back, a mixture of pleasure-pain pulling a shocked gasp from his throat. Clint’s hand took her by one thigh, throwing her calf over his shoulder. The change in pace, in angle brought Nat to shivering with desire.

They had done this dance so long, they each knew which button to push, which place to stroke. Clint took her mouth again, grunting at her whispers of ‘don’t stop’ breathed between kisses. She grasped at his backside, pulling him closer, harder. He couldn’t stop touching her writhing body even as his hips plunged them both toward bliss.

It was over too soon, leaving them gasping against the sweat-slicked sheets. Clint rolled onto his back to keep him from crushing his lover as they came down from the sex-induced high. Immediately, Natasha curled into the crook of his arm, resting her cheek over the frenetic beat of his heart.

Clint pulled her a little closer, kissing the top of her fragrant hair. He felt her smile against him, one fingertip drawing nonsense patterns over his abdomen.

They lay for a moment in silence, enjoying the company of one another without anyone else’s demands. Here they could be together without wondering whom was listening at the door to her rooms on the Helicarrier. This was their place, where Black Widow and Hawkeye became Nat and Clint.

“You were worried.” Clint said, when he caught his breath. “I don’t like to worry you.”

“I was.” Natasha spelled something in what felt like Russian over his chest with her finger. “Nick wouldn’t tell me anything.”

Clint’s chuckle bounced his lover a little from where she lay on his chest. “Of course not. I’m fine, Nat. I promise. Assassination, quick and dirty.”

Nat nodded against his skin. “Good.”

Comfortable silence stretched over them once more. Nat continued her drawing as Clint tucked his free arm behind his head. At some point, they would need to shower, dress, and probably hunt up something to eat. He wouldn’t mind. He didn’t mind much when Natasha was involved.

“Cap told me something interesting.”

“Yeah? Can’t be anything too scandalous.”

Natasha’s smirk was unmistakable, even if he couldn’t see her face.

“Did you know he got sexed up by a fangirl?”

Clint paused. “Ok. Tell me everything.”

  
~**~

 

Natasha left the briefing room with her usual quick stride. She had ten minutes before she was needed at the Quinjet to help Cap on his most recent mission.

They had to extract a SHIELD operative in deep cover, it wouldn’t be much of a mission, but it might take a few days.

As she rounded the corner leading toward the lockers where she stowed her weapons, a hand lashed out to take her by the waist. She neither squealed nor laughed, knowing whom had intercepted her on the way to a mission.

“Hey.”

Clint’s face was an inch from hers. She smiled at him, enjoying the stolen moment between them. He cupped her cheeks with both hands, lifting her face so he could drop a chaste, innocent kiss onto her mouth that made her knees go weak.

“Be careful.” Clint insisted, his eyes searching hers for a moment. “Promise?”

“Promise.” Natasha promised. “Are you heading to London?”

Clint nodded. “Yeah. I should be back in a day or so. I’m taking Ward.”

“Oh? Good.” Natasha grinned. “Get Boy Scout into trouble.”

His answering smile was downright devilish. “You got it. I love you, Spider-girl.”

Natasha kissed him once more, quickly.

“I love you, too, Bird Brain.”

She darted out of the alcove a beat later, immediately falling in step with Captain America.

“Ready?” Steve asked with a rare impish look in his eye.

Natasha nodded, not giving him the satisfaction of a smile.

“Good. I’m glad to have you back.”

 

 


End file.
